Hidden Beauty

The main aspect of Hidden Beauty is constructed through participants to represent their personalities.  The style I want to convey is a natural look, I want all the focus to be on the subject with no distractions in the background. The main attention is the subject to communicate a strong bond, strike attention and curiosity. The composition of the photos will be the centre of the frame, following the rule of third’s, positioning the face in the centre and the arms either side. The aspect ratio will be 16:9 has to eliminate head space, so the attention is in the middle of the frame with the subject. The colour scheme will be natural and to light my subjects I will be using the three point lighting set up. I will be using a photography studio with white walls to not only have a controlled environment but to also make my subject the only matter in the photos. I have asked my participants to wear culture appropriate clothing to bring elements of their personalities and culture together.

 

The styling from The Atlas of Beauty by Mihaela Noroc (Noroc, n.d.) and You Are Beautiful by Mehmet Genc  (Meltzer, 2016) have kept a natural tone and feel to their subject. I have noticed that Genc may edit the photos to create a stronger contrast however the colour pallet is still kept in its natural light and place. Genc also stayed close to his subjects to be able to capture the expression on his participants. Whereas Noroc used the areas she visits her advantage by using them in the background in a subtle blur to be able to communicate her ideologies. The background is blurred to keep the focus on the subject. However, I will be using a photography studio to have more control of the technical aspects so I can concentrate more on my participant’s story as well as the photograph. Furthermore by making the photos similar to the background and composition it creates a bond between all of the photos to show a connection but to also express everyone’s uniqueness, through elements of costume, makeup, body language and light.

 

I want to bring the theme and style of the natural beauty within my photos and create a strong contrast to separate my subjects from the white background. My participants that will be taking part in my project are from around the world from India, Hungry, Pakistan, Ireland, Poland, Latvia, Korea, Romania, China and Italy. The lighting is very important to express the right emotion. I want to be able to recreate the light that my inspirations have used to be able to communicate the right emotion. From a No Film School video (Renée, 2017) I have learnt the right set up to use to convey the emotion I need. I will use the 1:1 ratio to expose the same about of light on both sides of the face to make the viewer more comfortable and inviting to learn more about my participant’s story. Soft high key lighting to eliminate harsh shadows and lines. There is a serious but yet beauty to be seen in my photos and I want to invite people to learn and listen to be able to discover the beauty that is hidden.

 

The clothing is going to be different according to where my participants are from. To make my message stronger considering I am using a photography studio it is important to represent the culture as quickly as possible. I will be able to use the clothing that my participants have already.

 

When the production has taken place, being inspired by Noroc and Genc colour palette, when I come to editing the photos I want them to burst with colours. Sharp, crisp and constructed enough to affect my audience but only on a subconscious level. I want the viewer to be drawn to the photos colour contrast but not enough to overpower the message I am trying to convey. I want to convey a natural feel and tone of saturation that is enough to attract the eye to my subjects. I have taken inspiration from Steve McCurry (McCurry, 2012) the colour scheme in his edits. His photographs exaggerate the natural colours that appear in the surrounding area. The background is blurred which brings the eyes attention to the portrait and expression on the face and the colours attract the eye to the photograph. I hope to achieve this look within my own photographs to bring the surrounding colours to life to attract the attention to the photographs but to also keep it natural and simple to not overpower the message I am sending across.

 

There are a lot of elements to consider giving the intended message, style, tone, look and feel. I have done some test photos outside some with my participants and some with people while I was in Morocco. I discovered that outside shooting, I couldn’t control the sunlight to stop harsh shadows appearing so using a photography studio will give me the advantage to achieve the soft lighting I need. I have edited the photos to a vibrant eye catching photo but still natural and simple.

 

Overall I have a lot to learn and will adapt accordingly to each participant to achieve the best possible outcome to communicate the welcoming feeling I need to achieve. Every detail and decision need to be perfect to be able to attract people to my photos and interact with the hidden beauty that deserves to be heard.